Chapter Five

Jericho was worried about Karina. He didn’t want to be. Hell, he wanted to hold himself aloof, to treat her like the enemy she was.

But he couldn’t.

She was asleep once again. From the reading he’d done online, that was to be expected with a head injury, along with possibly dizziness and disorientation. Even though he’d seen the lines of pain on her face, she’d done her best not to betray any weakness.

Even injured and with amnesia she was a formidable woman. But who was the real Karina Azarov?

“Where the hell are we?” he asked. He’d been so concerned about Karina that he hadn’t paid attention.

“Northern California.” Enoch was at the wheel, driving them through the winding roads. He glanced in the rear-view mirror and their eyes met. “Figured it was far away from Karina’s people.”

“And still close to my blood brothers,” he finished. His friends knew him well.

Enoch shrugged. “Keeps our options open. Didn’t figure you’d want to leave the country just yet.”

“Meeting them may no longer be an option.”

“Why?” Sadiq had taken the third row of the SUV and was leaning against the side with his long legs stretched across the entire length of the seats.

He knew Sadiq wasn’t trying to be difficult, but to make him think about what he was doing. Little did his friend know that higher thought processes had very little to do with what he was experiencing right now. It was all primal instinct.

“I doubt they’d exactly be warm and welcoming.” Jericho ran his hand over Karina’s dark hair, careful not to touch her injury. She gave a little snuffle and turned her body slightly toward him, as far as her seat belt would allow.

“And how is that any different from the last four thousand years?”

Khalil swore, and Enoch glanced over his shoulder, his expression one of “what the fuck.” Jericho stiffened and slowly swiveled to meet Sadiq’s gaze. “It is no different.” The pain was still there—a familiar companion. But it had dulled over the centuries, becoming an ache he’d lived with for so long he barely noticed it anymore.

Sadiq dragged his hand over his face and sighed. “I’m sorry—”

Jericho cut him off. “It’s the fucking truth. We were all abandoned by our sires and tossed out of our homes like garbage. Left on our own to live or die.” Those had been the worst days of his existence.

“Your brothers didn’t know about you,” Khalil reminded him.

Jericho banged his head against the seat and sighed. “I know that. Intellectually, I understand.” He shrugged and tried to push aside the hurt. “It no longer matters.”

“The hell it doesn’t,” Sadiq muttered. “Look, I’m feeling snarly and taking it out on you. We’ve always been honest with one another.”

“We have.” His stomach tightened. Would he lose one of his friends because of his decision to take Karina? His obsession with his blood brothers? He wasn’t sure he could survive without Sadiq. He and the others were a part of him, just as his dragon was.

Dark eyes as black as his own stared back at him. They were both fire drakons, and that had bonded them on an even deeper level. “What happens when you finally connect with your brothers? Your real brothers.”

Jericho was an idiot. All these long centuries, millennia really, he’d gone on and on about his real brothers. First condemning them and railing against them, then becoming obsessed, wanting every scrap of information, every detail he could discover about them. Finally, had come his plan to meet them.

Through it all, his friends had stood by his side and helped in whatever way he’d asked. He’d never once considered their feelings in the matter.

Pain seared his soul. “I’m a selfish son of a bitch,” he muttered. They all kept their voices low so Karina wouldn’t wake, but they were drakons, their hearing well beyond that of a human. They heard him.

“You are my brothers,” he insisted. “The others might be related by blood, but I don’t know them, not like I know you. You are my true family. Never forget that.” His voice was lower, gruffer than usual, but his emotions were riding high.

“If you don’t want me to approach my blood brothers, I won’t.” He’d rather give up something he’d never had than to lose what was right in front of him.

Sadiq’s hand fell heavily on his shoulder. “We would not ask this of you.”

Jericho had known he’d say that. His friend knew he needed to confront his brothers if he was going to put the past behind him. “And that means more than you will ever know.”

“Doesn’t mean we’ll like them,” Enoch added, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him. “Just saying.”

Jericho chuckled. “I might not like them, either.”

They drove in silence as the sky grew lighter. Beside him, Karina slept on, blissfully unaware of where they were taking her. Flying across the country, they’d gained back time. Too bad they couldn’t just shift and use their powerful dragon wings to take them where they needed to go. But those days were gone. The invention of radar and satellites had made flying a much riskier business than it had once been.

Sometimes he missed the old days.

The area they were driving through was quite beautiful, with tall trees and the ocean in the distance. America wasn’t their home, but he was enjoying all he’d seen of it. They’d lived in the most inhospitable places of the world, mostly in Africa and Asia, but also parts of Eastern Europe. They’d come overseas for one reason—to carry out his plan.

So far that wasn’t working out so well.

Enoch turned off the main highway and started down a secondary road. The rural and sparsely populated area was exactly what they needed.

He was very aware of every breath Karina took. Being in an enclosed space, he could scent blood and sweat, but underneath was a sweeter perfume, one unique to her. He couldn’t stop looking at her, wanting to stroke her, hold her.

Which was why he’d strapped her into the seat beside him.

The more he touched her, the more he wanted her. He had to proceed with caution, or he was going to be hurt.

As he stared out the window, he admitted the truth. No matter what happened, he was going to suffer. There was no way around it.

She might not remember who she was at this particular moment, but she was Karina Azarov. They were bitter enemies. He wasn’t sure how either one of them could get around that.

His dragon slyly whispered inside him. Love her. Bind her. Claim her.

Jericho refused to listen. Or, at least, mostly refused. There was a small part of him that agreed with his baser half. But his human mind, his keen intellect, wouldn’t let him build dreams that would most likely turn into nightmares.

After another half hour they pulled up in front of a home that looked like a scouted location for some television show or movie about the perfect rural family. It was a two-story white house with a wraparound porch and a small lawn surrounding it. The only thing missing was a dog and grandma on a porch swing.

He narrowed his gaze and snorted. “There’s a swing on the porch.”

“Don’t sit in it,” Enoch warned. “You break it, you bought it.”

This was not their usual sort of digs. They tended toward rustic in the countryside and refurbished warehouses in the city. They were big men and needed a lot of space.

“This was the best you could do?” He opened the door and climbed out, inhaling the fresh air. Karina had needed to travel by car, but none of them liked it. They hated being confined in any way.

“On short notice, yeah.” Enoch took no offense. “Plus, it’s not our usually style. If someone stumbles onto us and starts looking, it should throw them off.”

There was that.

Khalil and Sadiq were already unloading the bikes and their gear. While Enoch went to open up the house, Jericho reached in and undid Karina’s seat belt. When he started to lift her out, she stirred and opened her eyes.

He shouldn’t be attracted to her. Her face was bruised and there was a bandage on her head. But the injuries did nothing to detract from her beauty. If anything, they made her seem fragile and ethereal, things he knew she wasn’t.

She managed to break their deadlock and looked away. After blinking several times, she asked, “Where are we?”

“Not quite sure.” He eased her from the vehicle and carried her straight inside.

“You’re not sure?” she parroted.

“Nope. But we’ve got a roof over our heads and can rest. That’s all that matters.” He went up the staircase and stopped at the first bedroom. It wasn’t overly large, but it had a bed, which was all he needed. He noted an open door that revealed an attached bathroom. Perfect.

After setting her down on the mattress, he took a step back. He should leave her alone and go help the others with the gear. Someone would have to get groceries, or they’d starve.

She put her fingers to her forehead and gingerly touched the bandage. She had to be feeling weak, maybe confused.

Shoving down his need to take care of her, comfort her, he went on the attack, hoping to catch her off guard.

“Why do you have a tattoo on your shoulder?”

…

Karina stopped rubbing her forehead, certain she must have misheard. “What?” Her head hurt and her vision was slightly burred. Maybe the accident had damaged her hearing, as well.

“Why do you have a tattoo?”

Still groggy from the nap she’d had, she leaned against the headboard and tried to make sense of his question.

He sat down beside her, forcing her to slide across the bed as he took up a whole lot of real estate. “It’s on your left shoulder.” He lifted her right hand and placed it on the area in question. Through the fabric of the shirt, she could feel the bandage.

“I thought that was from the injury you mentioned. I don’t know anything about a tattoo.” She hadn’t remembered her own name. She certainly didn’t remember any tattoo. Her stomach churned.

Since the accident, it was as though everything she’d seen and heard, everything she’d done and had done to her, had been filtered through a veil, muffling the worst of all of it. Now that had been stripped away.

“It’s a labyrinth. Small but detailed. It was damaged by the piece of metal that hit you.” He sat beside her like a big, brooding guard dog. “We discovered it when we were trying to stop the bleeding.”

Listening intently, she had no sense he was lying to her. And she was generally very good at reading people. Sheer frustration made her want to scream. These flashes of knowing were maddening. There was never enough information.

“Can you show me a picture?” At some point in her life, she’d obviously made the decision to get this design permanently affixed to her body.

When he frowned, she pushed onward. “Seeing it might spark a memory.” Something had to. She hated feeling adrift, needed to understand who she was. And since the tattoo seemed important to him, she wanted to know exactly what it looked like. Jericho knew more than he was telling her. It was up to her to forge her own path.

Because as kind as he’d been, there was no ignoring the fact he was a kidnapper. That meant he was one of the bad guys, right? Except she was finding it increasingly difficult to view him in that light.

Maybe it was one of those syndromes—the name escaped her at the moment. Maybe she was identifying with her captor because he was all she knew.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt for you to take a look,” he conceded.

But he didn’t move and neither did she. The air in the room seemed to thicken, making it more difficult to capture a breath. She sniffed and was startled. “Do you smell something burning?”

Jericho swore and jumped to his feet. “No.” He paced the small space. Three short strides one way, turn, three back. The room simply wasn’t big enough for a man his size to be comfortable.

“What are you going to do with me?” That was the question she should have been asking from the beginning. She blamed her head injury. She’d simply been living moment to moment, not really considering the future.

“I don’t know.”

His blunt reply didn’t offer a whole lot of comfort. “What had you planned to do?”

He came back to the side of the bed and sat facing her with one knee resting on the mattress. There was a small rip in his jeans, giving her a peek at the heavily muscled thigh beneath. She had the biggest urge to run her finger over that tiny exposed swath of skin.

He caught her chin in his hand. Surprised by his action, she allowed him to lift her face until their gaze met.

“I had no plans to kidnap you.” His voice was so impossibly deep it seemed to vibrate in her very bones.

“No?” She reached up and wrapped her hand around his wrist. Or tried to. It was too thick for her fingers to reach all the way around.

“No.” He shook his head, making his hair flow around his shoulders. At some point, he’d lost the tie that had held it back. It was thick and lush, and she wanted to run her fingers through it, which was crazy, considering her circumstances.

The air practically cracked and snapped with tension until she wasn’t sure she could bear it for one more second.

“Well?” she demanded.

“I didn’t plan to take you.” He leaned inward until their noses were almost touching, his breath puffing against her skin. His nostrils flared. “No, I didn’t plan to take you,” he repeated as he rubbed this thumb over the curve of her jaw. “I’d planned to kill you.”

He said it so softly it took her a moment to process. Fear flared through her. She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her go, increasing his grip on her jaw. She swallowed heavily, barely able to get past the lump in her throat.

Even though she was cold, she began to sweat. Who was she that someone would want her dead? No, not someone—Jericho.

“I don’t understand.” Her teeth wanted to chatter, but she clenched her jaw. The ache in her head grew in magnitude until she could barely hear past the thundering in her ears.

“I know you don’t.” His black, fathomless eyes promised death. There was no emotion there at all. That was more frightening than if she’d sensed anger. Jericho was a man who could kill and likely had. Furthermore, she doubted he would lose any sleep over the matter once it was done.

What the hell was she involved in?

He was so close she could count his individual eyelashes. “It’s why you’re still alive.”

That didn’t make any sense. “I’m alive because I don’t know who I am?” Anger shoved out fear and confusion. She much preferred the fire of fury. It warmed her, gave her a much-needed boost of adrenaline.

He nodded as he slowly slid his hand from her jaw to her neck. His fingers fractionally tightened. He could snap it like a twig. Call her crazy, but somehow, she knew he wouldn’t. There was something indefinable between them that wouldn’t be denied. She just wished she understood what it was.

It was impossible to ignore how the heat from his skin penetrated hers.

“Stop trying to intimidate me.” She tugged at his arm, but it was like trying to move a mountain. It just wasn’t happening unless he wanted it to.

Then some tiny piece of knowledge filtered into her brain. She stopped trying to pull his entire arm away and grasped his little finger instead, yanking it back hard.

He swore but didn’t let her go. If she kept up the pressure, she’d break it. That’s what she should do. Instead, she released his finger, letting it fall back against her neck.

“Why?” he asked.

“Why did I let go?” When he nodded, she shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“I’m not sure why I’m doing this either.” He closed the distance between them but stopped short of actually kissing her. His lips hovered next to hers, so close she could almost taste them.

There was no mistaking what he wanted. The smart thing would be to turn her head away. If he’d forced it, she would have fought him, but he was leaving the choice up to her.

Not only was he big and gorgeous, he was proving to be highly intelligent and intuitive. He was also the grounding point in the madness that was her life.

Giving a strangled groan, she pressed her mouth against his.

She’d truly lost her mind, but if this was insanity, she was ready to embrace it. Because with her lost memories, this attraction sizzling between them was the only thing that seemed real and true.

For a man of his size, with a barely contained violence that seemed to seethe inside him, he was incredibly gentle. His lips were firm but soft as they grazed hers.

The hold on her neck changed from one of intimidation to one of seduction. He trailed his fingers along the slender column of her throat and over her shoulder. Using his tongue, he traced the seam of her lips. When she parted them and sucked in a breath, he slipped inside.

He didn’t take, didn’t demand. He cajoled, enticed, until she had no choice but to respond.

When their tongues met, a jolt of pure lust shot through her. She had nothing to compare it to, no memories of past lovers, but she didn’t need them to know that this was something special. The power of it shocked her into pulling back.

He, too, appeared stunned but covered it quickly by frowning and all but jumping off the bed. “Get cleaned up, but don’t get your bandages wet. I’ll bring up your bag so you can change into clean clothes. When you’re done, come downstairs. There’ll be food, and you can see the picture we took of your tattoo.”

Before she could summon a response, he was gone, the door closing with a sharp bang behind him.

She sat there on the bed for the longest time and simply touched her fingers to her lips. The heat from their kiss still lingered, as did the raw, masculine taste of him.

Jericho was dangerous to her in more ways than one. If she wasn’t careful, the sizzling desire that stirred deep within her might make her forget he’d not only caused her accident, he’d planned to kill her. The fact that he’d taken her instead was irrelevant.

“You need to get your head back in the game.” Because information and escape should be her priorities, not wondering what it might be like to have sex with Jericho.

Did he think if he seduced her, she’d tell him everything she knew? She made a choking sound, almost a sob before swallowing back the pain. It was a waste of his time. She didn’t know anything.

But she would.

Determination drove her from the bed when dizziness threatened to keep her there. She peered out the window but decided against trying to escape through it. The way she was feeling, she’d likely fall and break her neck. If she was going to get away, she needed to get her strength back, not to mention her memories.

She made her way to the small en suite, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw the shower. Then his warning came back. She’d have to be extra careful not to get the bandage soaked, but nothing was going to keep her from getting clean. And she’d have to wait to see the picture of her tattoo. Wasn’t as though there was any rush. Escaping was out until she healed, at least a little.

There was a lock on the door, but she there was no point in using it. It wasn’t likely to keep Jericho out if he wanted in. She hoped he was true to his word and brought up her bag. She paused in the act of turning on the tap. Did that mean she’d been planning on staying for a while wherever she’d been headed? Why else would she have a bag?

Too many questions and not nearly enough answers.

As the water heated, she stripped off her clothes and set them aside, just in case she needed them. There was soap and shampoo on a shelf, so she stepped under the spray and washed away the remnants of the past.

…

Birch sat in Karina’s office. It seemed empty without her. Where was she? Was she already dead? And who the hell had taken her?

He’d refused all pain medication at the hospital, needing to stay sharp. His arm was only broken. Nothing serious. Although he’d gotten out of there as fast as he’d been able, he’d still been delayed by the authorities. Unfortunately, he was speaking the truth when he told them he didn’t know what had happened.

One minute they’d been traveling down the road, the next, the driver had called out a warning. Then, the entire vehicle had flipped. There was nothing at the scene to indicate another vehicle had been involved in the accident. And there wouldn’t be if another Knight had taken her. They’d have had a team on hand to clean up the debris and get away before the police arrived.

Someone had to have been watching them. He’d fucked up by not having enough security.

The phone rang. Since he’d destroyed his old one and texted his new number to Svetlana, he’d been expecting the call.

“Anything?” There was no greeting, only a demand. No inquiry into his injuries because she truly didn’t care.

“Not on my end,” he told her. “I’ve got people looking for chatter among the Knights and combing the area around the crash for clues and possible witnesses. I don’t want to do anything that might tip off the others that she’s missing. Not if they’re not responsible.” They’d circle like vultures, trying to carve up Karina’s empire and get their hands on all her knowledge of dragons, not to mention her wealth.

Little did they know there was a much larger predator to fear. And it wasn’t a dragon. None of them wanted to take on Karina. They had no idea she was a minnow compared to the great white shark lurking just beneath the surface.

“You?” he asked.

“Nothing. I want to know the minute you hear anything. If we can’t figure out what’s going on, I may have to take drastic measures sooner rather than later.” She ended the call abruptly. Birch tossed his phone onto the desk.

If he didn’t find Karina, and soon, Svetlana might decide it was time to come out of hiding and reclaim the family empire. If she did that, she’d have little need of her granddaughter. Might even decide it was a strategic advantage to have another Knight murder Karina. Then she could come back with a righteous vengeance and possibly sway some of her previous enemies to her side.

He couldn’t let that happen.

No stone would be left unturned until he found Karina. He grabbed his phone and left the office. There was no way he’d give up the search.